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Greece, Rome, Paris - Budget question

My wife and I are traveling to Europe for the first time this summer. Are itinerary is set and all flights, accommodations, and transportation between locations is paid for. Are itinerary is as follows...

Itinerary
June 23 - Flight from JFK to Athens arrive at 12:35 pm on June 24
June 24 to 28 - Athens (4 nights)
June 28 to July 3 - Naxos (5 nights)
July 3 to July 6 - Santorini (3 nights)
July 6 to July 12 - Rome (6 nights) - arriving on a flight at 12:00 pm
July 12 to July 17 - Paris (5 nights) - arriving on a flight at 2:10 pm
July 17 - Depart Paris on a 2:00 pm flight to return to JFK

I have budgeted approximately 2500 Euros for food, museums/attractions, transportation (to/from airports and ports, as well as in the cities/islands), and other incidentals. All accommodations include breakfast except for Rome, since we are staying in an apartment there. We do not plan on eating in expensive restaurants; instead, we will look for reasonable tavernas, etc. Attractions will consist of many of the main sites to visit in these places, including side trips to Versailles in Paris, Temple of Poseidon in Athens, Ostia Antica in Rome, and Delos in Naxos. Does this budget sound reasonable for both my wife and I considering the places we will visit?

I understand that these costs are highly subjective and individualized, but I am just trying to set an approximate budget.

I think your budget is too tight. You'd be amazed at how the little things add up, and you'll have to confine yourselves to very inexpensive meals in two of the world's food capitols ( Rome, Paris).

On another subject... How are you getting from Santorini to Rome? If you are flying from Athens, it's best to get back to Athens the night before your departure, not the day of your departure. There can be delays/cancellations coming from the islands - both on planes and ferries- so you don't want to miss your flight.

Thank you for the responses so far. This information is very helpful. I figured Paris and Rome would be more expensive and plan on factoring that into my budget. Would €3000 be more reasonable? This trip is a belated honeymoon, so I am willing to spend the money as needed.

WWK - We are flying from Santorini direct to Rome on Easy Jet. This will be my first time flying Easy Jet. Are there flights usually on time? Do flights from Santorini get delayed/cancelled often in the summer?

Daily expenses in Greece are likely to be lower than in Rome and Paris, so savings there could be applied to those more expensive cities. It's certainly possible to live cheaply in Greece. Breakfast is already paid for, and you can buy inexpensive sandwiches from bakeries for lunch.

Meals are served family style in Greece, with starters shared between diners. Buy three or four starters to share between you and you don't even need a main course.

If you're staying in an apartment in Rome, that will help to keep your food costs down. On some days, you can pick up some bread, salamis, cheese, and fruit at a good grocery and eat in those evenings. If you do a little research on local specialties, you can try some things that you don't often find on restaurant menus.

Rome and Paris: restaurants at tourist places are usually expensive; those where local people (clerks, etc.) eat are reasonably priced. There are furthermore many cheap self service restaurants (for example in railway stations and supermarkets).

To be honest, all places near the core tourist areas will be somwhow touristy up to an extend, you will have to head far away to find places where only locals go,...
About Athens, I would not call it non-touristy, but for a cheap introductory meal in Greek cuisine, you may consider ΣΧΟΛΑΡΧΕΙΟ - Scholarheio on 14, Tripodon street, Plaka area. For 15 euro/person you can have 5 dishes, a drink and an appetizer. They will present you a huge tray with 10-15 different meze dishes to chose from, including giant beans plaki, tzatziki, fried courgette, saganaki cheese, lausages and many other dishes.
An other good place to check is Tzitzikas & Mermigas off Syndagma Square, this is a modernised version of an old meze place, you will find your cutleries in a small drawer under your table and they serve traditional dishes with a modern twist. An appetizer, a shared salad, a main course, a glass of wine or two can come on 20-25 euros/person.
If you are willing to stray a bit further away than the core tourist Athens, you may want to check Mani-Mani on 10, Falirou street, Koukaki. Modern Greek cuisine at its best,, I would plan for around 20 euro per person upwards for a decent meal but sometimes on lunch they have option of half-portion dishes in order to encourrage people trying more dishes and you could take advantage of this.
All that said, a lot of Greek dinning is about a quick souvlaki meal, the wrapped pitta thing cost around 2euros, a portion around 5 euros usually. Avoid the extremely touristy and advertised and Bairaktaris and Thanasis places and go for more down to earth places, such as O Costas on Mitropoleos street (for a skewed meat souvlaki thing to take away) or ΤΑΧΥΦΑΓΕΙΟΝ ΤΟ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟΝ - Fast food the Greek on Kolokotroni street.
OK, I start to get hungry now....

I don't find the cost of modest eating in Paris to be hugely different from the same kind of thing in the US.

You eat in cafes or small restaurants.
You eat a few blocks from any place interesting to tourists.
You eat inside rather than outside (it's even cheaper if you stand at the bar).
You order the daily specials (the one course "plat" or the two course "menu" -- a menu is called a "carte")
You get takeout sandwiches for lunch from bakeries when you need to trim costs.
You eat in ethnic restaurants, particularly the various varieties of North African cous cous places.
Tax and tip are already included instead of adding 25-29% to the stated price as you have to do in the US.

Chain restaurants, the French equivalent of Olive Garden, can be good value. I like Leon de Bruxelles for mussels most of the time. Fast food (MacDo's, Hippopotamus) are not. Don't waste your time.

So, if you spend €30 for lunch and €40 for dinner for the two of you, you have €30 in walking around money.

For Naxos your hotel is right across a little street from the beach at St George. There re a couple of tavernas over to the right about 100 meters away. They have a good reputation however we prefer to walk about 15 minutes along the waterfront into Naxos town where there are lots of good tavernas. Our favourites are taverna to Kastro high up in the old town just under the Kastro walls (it is hard to find but worth it) Good Heart Kalo cardia on the waterfront Shirocco and Maros at fountain square. All of these are frequented by tourists and locals and are always full of people.

If you share like Heimdall suggested and order a liter of house wine you will be hard pressed to spend 30 euros for a very good dinner.

We self cater breakfast and usually buy local cheese, wine, fresh vegetables and some fruit along with a loaf of unbelievable hot fresh bread from the wood fired bakery in the old market area. We take that to the beach or out into interior and lunch costs us about 5 euro.

Here are images of Naxos town. Good choice in going to Naxos it will be by far the least expensive place y9u are visiting.

I find your budget doable.. cheap out sometimes by grabbing a sandwich, quiche, or crepe in Paris( I easily do 5-10 euros for a picnic type lunch in Paris ) .. then you can "splurge " for a dinner or two.
By law all restaurants/cafes must post their menus outside.. so its easy to see prices and offering before entering.. I often just see whats available in what ever area I am in at the time.. why limit yourself to places around the hotel??

PS good timing for your Paris visit as you will be there for the Fete National.( like 4th of july ) .. on July 14th!

Many go to Champs du Mars to watch fireworks, we decides against that because there are thousands of people there that stake out their picnic site starting in the afternoon, and very few bathrooms!!!!( and a lot of wine lol)
I would stake out a spot on bridge( sorry have to look up name) . And remember you should walk back to hotel after, metro is impossible after, literally a scene of heaving masses!So take that into account.

Excellent tips from mariha2912 in the Lonely Planet thread! I got a laugh from the OP's response "...especially the warning about the crafty tricks played by the restaurants." Those aren't crafty tricks, mariha was just explaining the way things are done in Greece.

I do really love the custom of sharing starters! Not only does it save money, but as mariha wrote, it's a way of savouring several different dishes. Can't make up your mind between two different starters? Try them both and share! Better yet, try three.

Another small tip about Greek salads: usually a whole portion is so huge I don't have much room in my tummy for anything else. If I am dining alone and want a main course as well, I save money by ordering a half-portion of Greek salad. A tomato & cucumber salad is a cheaper version of Greek salad — it doesn't have feta cheese on top, but usually contains all the other ingredients, i.e. olives (they won't be pitted), onion, capers, etc.

I'm a big fan of buying sandwiches in bakeries for lunch. The pies are good, and fresh out of the oven, but sandwiches are also made from bread baked fresh that morning. Many people who make breakfast in their rooms trek to the bakery each morning for fresh rolls and pastries.

Last tip: I love a cappuccino for breakfast, but if you blanch at the price of espresso-type coffee, order a "Nes". It's instant coffee, but very good. If you are adventurous, try at least once a Greek coffee — let the grounds settle after stirring in the sugar, and never drink it to the bottom of the cup!